Writer: Edith A. Chenault, (979) 845-2886, e-chenault1@tamu.edu
Contact: John Jackman, (979) 845-7026, j-jackman@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION - Butterflies are setting human hearts aflutter. These winged beauties can be found on the latest styles in hair and clothing accessories. Brides and grooms are releasing hundreds of live butterflies at their weddings. Butterfly gardening is gaining a new popularity.
John Jackman, entomologist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, understands the overwhelming attraction to the butterfly.
“I think there’s always been a lot of interest in butterflies,” Jackman said. “It’s an insect that is largely visual and attractive, so I think people are paying attention to it. Butterflies are a real popular item right now in Texas.”
The Lone Star State is home to more than 400 species of butterflies, and many garden enthusiasts are learning to plant the right flowers to get these beautiful creatures to visit their backyards.
“A couple of things you can do is you can plant a variety of flowers,” Jackman said. “Some flowers are a lot more attractive than others. Lantana is a good host plant butterfly bush and butterfly weed, too. There is a whole collection that is really good.”
Butterflies and moths are a group of insects called Lepidoptera, which is coined from two Greek words meaning “scale winged.” They have four wings that are almost always covered by colored scales.
The species, its life stage, the time of the year and each region of Texas determine host plants.
Females choose certain plants usually on the food that will sustain the larvae upon hatching to lay eggs.
An emerging caterpillar eats plant parts and attaches its chrysalis or silken cocoons to twigs or leaves, with the pupa inside. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar structures are broken down chemically, the adult’s new structures are formed and the butterfly emerges.
Most butterfly adults sip nectar with their coiled proboscis.
The Extension Service is now making it easier to identify 16 of the most popular butterflies of Texas through the creation of a full-color identification wheel.
“Butterflies of Texas” includes photographs of both the caterpillar and the adult butterfly of each of the species featured.
To help people attract more butterflies to their lawns and gardens, the wheel also lists host plants for the caterpillars as well as flowers that attract the adults. The wheel offers interesting facts about butterflies, skippers and moths and names the 12 Texas butterfly families and the number of species in each that call our state home.
The wheel was created to have a dual purpose, said Diane Bowen, Extension communications specialist and one of the creators of the wheel.
“When we made the butterfly wheel, we wanted to make it as useful and beautiful as possible,” she said.
“We wanted to make it portable, water and dirt resistant so you could go out to the garden and if you saw a butterfly, you could take it out and say, ‘it’s a black or tiger swallowtail,’ and look at the wheel and see if it matches.”
The “Butterflies of Texas” wheel can be purchased at most nurseries and garden centers, museums and through the Texas Agricultural Extension Service for $10.95. To order a copy, send a check or money order payable to Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Distribution and Supply, P.O. Box 1209, Bryan, Texas 77806. Specify publication L-5308, “Butterflies of Texas.” To order a butterfly identification wheel online, go to http://agpublications.tamu.edu/btfly.html.
“They’ve been flying off the shelves,” Bowen said. “Our first edition sold out in four months and our second edition sold out in two months, and now we are on our third edition. People just find it a fun and useful way to learn about butterflies.”
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